Kasson-Mantorville school board takes massive pay cut

Kasson-Mantorville School Board members elected to take a massive pay cut for 2021, reducing their salaries to $1 per month and $1 per special meeting. In 2020, the board chairperson made $1,300 annually and the other school board members pocketed $1,000 each annually.

On Monday, Jan. 4, during its annual organizational meeting, the board voted 6-1 to save the district about $7,500 this year. Zachary Peterson was the lone dissenter, with board members Angie Richards, Kent Harfmann, Brandon Madery, Mark Torkelson, Steve Alvarado and Amy Olson supporting the measure.

Torkelson made the motion, which was seconded by Harfmann, to approve the reduced salaries for this year. The board will consider its salaries again during its next organizational meeting, which will be held in January 2022.

In an email exchange, Peterson referred questions to Supt. Mark Matuska, board chair Richards and said the newspaper could pull from the meeting minutes for information about his no vote.

In the minutes it is recorded that Peterson expressed concerns for taking a significant pay cut and felt getting paid shows the board is making a difference in the community.

Matuska said the saved dollars won’t be spent out of the district’s general fund, and thus can be utilized for other programs.

“Depending upon what our budget is for the next two years from the state Legislature, this will help offset any cuts that might need to be made,” he said.

According to the board’s meeting minutes, Torkleson “stated that in these uncertain times, our economy has been greatly impacted by the pandemic. Believing that financial difficulties will hit school districts in the near future, Torkelson said a strategy he felt the board should adopt is that instead of cutting major programs, the district should attempt to take smaller bites out of other areas in an attempt to maintain quality educational opportunities for our students.”

Richards, the new school board chairperson, said gesture by the board was heartfelt, and made in recognition and in response to the tough economic times the school district and families in the community are experiencing right now.

“I thought it was a wonderful idea,” she said. “The board pay cut is a very small piece of the overall district budget, but I believe the gesture itself is important.”